Toy loader



March 1, 1955 c. A. swENsoN 2,702963 TOY LoADR Filed May 10, 1952 4 Shets-Sheet l fg W, WrM/LMM CT-rommaI March 1, 1955 cA. swENsoN TOY LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1952 March l, 1955 c. A. swENsoN TOY LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 10, 1952 w m W w, m n o W ,w Wf, I

March I, 1955 c. A. swENsoN TOY LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 10, 1952 United States Patent O TOY LOADER Carl A. Swenson, Rockford, Ill.

Application May 10, 1952, Serial No. 287,174

4 Claims. (Cl. 46-40) This invention relates to a mechanical toy of the type which is' made to simulate closely the appearance and operation of an actual commercial machine and, more particularly, to a toy in which a part is moved back and forth by turning a hand crank in one direction or the other. In its more specific aspects, the invention relates to a toy loader in which parallel arms are pivotally mounted on the sides of the body of a tractor and support a bucket on their outer free ends in front of the tractor so that the bucket is raised and lowered when the arms are swung up and down.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel mechanism which swings the arms with a motion closely resembling that in the actual loader, which is practical and durable in operation and which is hidden from view to retain the authentic appearance of the toy.

A more detailed object is to provide a mechanism of the above character in which there are no shafts subjected to heavy torques and in which the motion is transmitted from a hand crank to the arms through a system of levers with the movable parts of the mechanism in abutting engagement so that the mechanism is rugged in construction and not subject to binding of the parts. Another object is to construct and arrange the parts in a novel manner so that the toy may be made almost entirely from sheet metal.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a toy loader embodyingthe novel features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. l and showing the bucket raised.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the bucket lowered.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the lifting mechanism.

- Fig. 5 is` a perspective view of another part of the lifting mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6 6 in Fig. l.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in Fig. 6. i

Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary sectional views similar to Figs. 2 and 3 respectively and illustrate a modified form of the invention. i

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a part of the lifting mechanism used in the modified construction.

As shown in the drawings, the invention is embodied ini'a mechanical toy of the type which is made to simulate closely the appearance and operation of an actual commercial machine. Such toys are usually made almost entirely from sheet metal and are built very accurately to scale to give them an appearance as authentic as possible. Herein, the toy is designed to resemble a loader in which a loading mechanism 10 is mounted on a tractor 11 to pick up and carry earth or the like.

' The .loading mechanism 10 includes a pair of generally flat parallel arms 12 mounted on pivots 13 (Fig. 6) at their inner ends on the opposite side walls 14 of the tractor body 15 to swing up and down about a horizontal axis a. The arms project along the'side's of the body and outwardly beyond the front end 16 of the tractor and at their outer ends support a seoop or bucket 17 which is pivoted at 1,8 on the arms` to swing from a carrying ICC 2 position shown in broken lines in Fig. .2 to a dumping position shown in full lines. An inverted U-shaped yoke 19 is disposed between the outer end portions of thearms and is pivotally connected to the latter at the same point 18 at which the bucket is'pivoted. The yoke adds to the rigidity of the arm ssembly and supports a clip 20 which holds the bucket in the carrying position and may be lifted to release the bucket for dumping.

To hold the bucket 17 uprightwhen the arms 12 are raised, a second pair of parallel arms 21 are pivoted at one end to the tractor walls 14 at 22 behind the pivots 13 and at the other end to .the yoke 19 above thebucket pivots 18. With this construction,V the two arms on'each side of the tractor form a linkage which tilts the bucket to the upright position during initial upward swinging of the arms. After the arms reach the horizontal position, the linkage forms a parallelogram which holds the bucket upright in the continued movement of the arms.

In the case of the full size commercial loader, the bucket is raised hydraulically by piston type motors 23 mounted on the sides of the tractor with the piston rods 24- connected to the arms 21 to swing both sets of arms and the bucket up and down. Such hydraulic operation is impractical in toys and, instead, the loading mechanism 10 is operated by a hand crank 25 journaled in the tractor body 15, the cylinders 23 being included merely to simulate the actual construction ofV the commercial machine. The crank 25 operates a drive mechanism 26 (Fig. 6) which in turn raises and lowers the arms.

In accordance with the present invention, the drive mechanism 26 produces a motion of the arms 12 and 21 closely simulating that in the commercial construction, is practical and durable in operation and is hidden effective-y within the tractor body 15 to retain the authentic appearance of the toy. In general, the novel drive mechanism comprises a pair of levers 27 (Figs. 2, 3, and 6) for lifting the arms 12 and 21, an Operating member 28 for turning the levers and a gear train.29 to magnify the torque applied to the crank 25 and transmit the motion of the crank to the Operating member.

In the present instance, the levers 27 are fiat and generally triangular in shape and 'are spaced apart to lie along the inner sides of the side walls 14. One apex 30 of each lever is disposed near the floor 31 of the tractor, and each lever is fulcrumed on the adjacent side wall at this apex as by rivets 32 so that the levers turn about an axis b (Pig. 7) parallel to the axs a. Between the apex 30 and the forward apex 33, each lever is cut away as indicated at 34 to reduce the amount of metal required and to provide the necessary clearance for the hand crank 25.

While the levers 27 may rase either the arms 12 or Ithe arms 21 since the two sets of arms move together, it is preferred to lift the lower arms 12. For this purpose, flanges or ledges 35 are formed on the-levers at the for- Ward apex 33 and project outwardly through upwardly directed notches 36 (Figs. 1 and 3) in the side walls 14 and under the arms 12 intermediate the pivots 13 and 18 to provide abutments on which the arms rest. These notches permit the varms 12 to swing downwardly far enough to drop the bucket 17 onto the supporting surface for the loader, that is, the surface engaged by the vehicle Wheels. Herein, the levers are enlarged at theapex 33 and bent over and outwardly to make the ledges 35. When the levers are turned counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 2, the ledges swing upwardly carrying the arms with them.

To join the levers 27 'togetherV so that theyswing in unison and may 'be turned by a single 'Operating member, a web or erosspiece 37 spans the levers across the |third apexes 38 and is rigidly connected ,to the levers. Since the crosspiece is offset from the fulcrum b of the levers, its inner or forward surface 39 provides an abutment which may be pushed rearwardy to turn the levers and swing the ledges 3'5 upwardly. `Preferably, the levers '27 and the crosspiece '37 are made 'from a lsingle sheet metal stamping to form an integral unit as shown in Fig; 4. g

The Operating member 28 is mounted to movelback and forth longitudinally'of 'the ltractor 'and to abut against the inner face '39 of the crosspiece '37.' When the membei' is moved toward the rear of the tractor, it bears against 'the crosspiece and turns the 'levers `27 to swing the arms 1'2 up while the arms are permitted to swing down by gravi'ty as the Operating member is moved in the opposite direction. In the present instance, the operating member 'is a flat lever arm disposed in a plane parallel to and midway between' the tractor 'side walls 14. The lever rocksV about a 'transverse axis c `('Fig. 7) and abuts against the crosspiece face 39 along the upper end of its rear edge '40 which is rounded so that the crosspiece and the lever may rock `slightly relative to each Other as the latter is movcd 'back and forth.

To support -the Operating lever 28 and turn it about its axis, the lever is disposed alongside and rigidly connected to the last gear 41 (Fig. 6) of the train 29. As indicated at 42 ('Fig. the lever may be spot welded to the side face 43 of the gear to provide the rigid connection. .The gear train 29v is enelosed in a housing 44 under the seat 45 of `the tractor and the Operating lever projects through adjoining'slots 46 ('Fig. 3) and 47 (Fig. 7) in the upper rear walls 48 'and 49 of the housing so that the lever may turn from the generally upright position shown in Fi-g. 3 rearwardly to the position shown in Pig. 2, The crank 25, which -extends through a hole in the side of the tractor 'body 15 and is journaled in the side walls '50 of the gear housing 44, drives the gear train to swing 'the Operating lever back and forth.

Wi'th the triangular levers 'fulcrumed near the tractor floor 31, the Operating lever 23 applies its |force to the crosspiece 37 at a substantial distance from the axis b. While the levers 27 and the arms -12 thus turn about different axes, the ledges `35 are free to slide relative to the arms and maintain the bearing engagement. From a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3, it will 'be seen that the ledges are a maximum distance from the axis a when the varms are near the horizontal position and thereby provide the greatest support when the moment 'arm of the load in the 'bucket vis longest.

Since each lever 27 applies the lifting force separately to the adjacent arm 12, each arm may be mounted independently on the tractor body 1'5. The pivot's1'3, therefore, may be formed simply and easily 'by rivets as shown in Fig. 6 and, similarly, rivets may be used to pivot the arms 22.

In operation, assumiiig the parts to 'be in 'the position shown in Fig. 3, the crank 2'5 is turned to the right driving -tlie gear train and swinging the Operating lever 28 'toward the rear of the -tractor 11. Since lthe Operating lever -abuts against 'the front face 39 `of the crosspiece 37, the latter is pushed back turning the triangular levers 27 about the axis `b and swinging 'the ledges 35 upwardly. With -thelarms 12 resting Onthe ledges, -the motion of the triangular levers is impa'rted to the arms which thus are swung upV to the position shown in 'Fig. 2.

When the crank 2'5 is turned in the opposite direction, the Operating lever 28 is swung back toward the front of the tractor. With the arms 12 resting on the ledges 35, the weight of the loading mechanism tends to turn thetriangular levers 27 in a clock'wise direction as viewed in lFi'gs. 2 and 3 and holds the crosspiece 37 against the Operating lever. 'Thus, as the crank returns the Operating lever to its upright position, the arms 1'2 and 21 and the bucket 17 are lowered by gravity.

'In the modified form shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, the Operating arm 28' and the last gear 41' of the train 29 are formed as a unitary'part '51. The `latter is fulcrumed on a shaft 52 extending between 'the side walls 50 of the gear housing 44 and defining the axis c (Pig. 10) which is thel pivotal axis of the arm 28' 'and also the center of 'the gear 41'. 'In this case, the gear is a sector gear meshing with a pinion 53 of the gear train. The arcuate length of the sector gear corresponds -to the angle through which the 'bucket arms 12 swing 'so that the pinion 2'5 turns the gear from an upright position ('Fig. `9) in which the arms are lowered to a generally horizontal position (Pig. 8) in which the arms are raised.

With this arrangement, turning the hand crank 25 swings the Operating arm 28' down turning the triangular levers 27 to lift the 'bucket arms 12. When the 'arms 12 reach their uppermost position, the 'sector gear 41' no longer meshes with 'the pinion 25 thus preventing the gears from 'being stripped of their teeth by the continued turning of the hand crank. The weight of the bucket 17 tends to turn the Operating arm cloek'wise so that the gear 41" and the pinion 52 mesh again as soon as the 4 tooth 53u on the pinion passes out of engagement with the tooth 41a on the gear. Thus, once the bucket is raised, continued turning of the hand crank results in repeated disengagement and engagement of the 'sector gear and the pinion. `In this way, damage to the gear teeth is prevent'ed while, at the same time, the gear and the pinion are urged into meshing engagement so that the Operating arm 28' may be turned in the opposite direction to lower the bucket 17.

Similarly, the sector gear 41 becomes disengaged from the pinion `53 when the 'bucket arms 12 reach their lower position. 'in this case, however, the weight of the bucket 17 is not effective to return the gear into engagement with the pinion and thus a spring is provided for this purpose. Herein, advantage is taken of the position of the operating arm 28' with respect to -the seat 45 so that the latter may serve as this spring. To this end, the downwardly projecting leg 54 of the |seat is fastened to the tractor fioor 31 as by a rivet 55 and the back 56 `of the seat is hooked under a fiange 57 on the upper wall '58 of the tractor body 15. Since the seat 45 is made of sheet metal and is anchored to the tractor body only at opposite ends, it is free to yield slightly 'from a normal position shown in phantom in iFig. 9 to the position shown in full ines.

When the hand crank 25 is turned to swing the operating arm 28' clockwi'se and the bucket arms 12 down, a projecting corner `59 on the Operating arm in back of the abutment face 40 engages the inside of the back 56 of the sea-t 45. Upon further turning of the hand crank, the sector gear 41' is moved out of engagement with the pinion `53 as shown in Fig. 9. At the same time, the Operating arm pushes the seat 'forward and the seat, acting as a spring, urges the arm back. As soon as the tooth 53b -on the pinion 53 passes out of engagement with the tooth '41h on 'the sector gear 41', therefore, the spring action of the `seat turns the Operating arm counterclock- Wise until -thc gear again meshes with the pinion whereupon the parts are again in position to raise the bucket arms 12.

.It will be observed that the above construction provides a practical and durable mechanism for lifting the bucket 17 and, at the same time, the working parts are hidden from view and do not detract from the authentic appearance of the toy. A factor contributing to this result is the free pivoting of the arms on the sides of the tractor and the use of a system of levers to swing the arms thus elimiiiating shafts which would be subjected to heavy torques and incapable, unless of objectionable size, of withstanding the resultng strains. The toy is made even more durable by using the sector gear 41' so that the teeth of the gears in the train 29 cannot be damaged if the hand crank 25 should Continue to be turned after the bucket arms 12 have reached their upper Or lower limit position. By transmitting the motion of one moving part to another through a bearing engagement, the parts will not bind and will move freely and easily even when the bucket is carrying a relatvely heavy load. In addition, the ledges 35 engage the arms 12 at a substantial distance from the pivotal axis a when the arms are horizontal thereby reducing the force required to lift. the bucket. The arrangement of the levers 27 and the sliding connection between the levers and the arms produces the same wide range of arm motion as in the actual loader even though the working space, which necessarily is limited to the space within the tractor body 15, is comparatively small. Further, since the levers 27 are subjected only to tension and not compression forces and the ledges 35 apply the lifting force edgewise to the arms 12, there is little tendency for these parts to buckle, making it possible to use sheet metal construction.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a toy loader, the combination of, a vehicle body, a gear train disposed within said body, a hand crank journaled on said body'and connected to said train to drive the same, an Operating lever rigidly connected to the last gear of said train and disposed in the longitudinal center plane of said body to turn in said plane, a pair of parallel levers disposed on opposite sides of said operating lever equal distances from said plane, means pivotally mounting said levers to swing about a fulcrum axis extending transversely of the body, a crosspiece offset from said axis and rigidly connecting said second levers to provide .an abutment engageable with said Operating lever, a pair of elongated parallel arms disposed alongside and pvoted on said body independently of said levers to swing about a second axis parallel to said first axis, a bueket supported on the outer ends` of said arms, and means connecting each of said parallel levers with one of said arms to swing the latter when the levers are turned by said Operating lever, said last named connecting means permitting manual lifting of said arms independently of and without actuation of said levers and gears.

2. In a toy loader, the combination of, a vehicle body, a pair of parallel levers spaced laterally apart and mounted on said body to turn about a common horizontal axis, a crosspiece offset from said axis and rigidly connecting said levers, an Operating arm disposed midway between said levers and mounted on said body to turn about a parallel axis and abut against said crosspiece, a crank journaled on said body, a gear train connecting said crank and said arm, a pair of parallel and spaced apart lifting arms, one disposed adjacent each of said levers and each pivotally mounted on said body independently of said levers to turn about a third axis paralleling said first axis, a ledge on each of said levers and offset from said first and third axes, said ledges projecting under said lifting arms and providing abutments on which the arms rest, and a bucket supported on the outer ends of said lifting arms.

3. In a toy loader, the combination of, a frame, a pair of parallel levers pivoted on said frame to swing about a horizontal axis up and down through a predetermined range and adapted to support a load, a crosspiece offset from said axis and rigidly connecting said levers, an operating arm fulcrumed on said frame and connected to said crosspiece to swing said levers about said axis, a crank journaled on said frame, a gear train driven by said crank, a sector gear rigid with said arm and meshng with the output gear of said train, the arcuate length of said sector gear corresponding to said range whereby the sector gear becomes disengaged from said output gear when said levers reach the upper and the lower ends of said range whereby continued and overdriving operation of said gear train is rendered ineifective, said gears being urged into engagement by gravity when said levers lare in said upper position, and an abutment on said arm bearing against a part of said frame when said levers are at the lower end of said range, said frame part being yieldable to turn said arm back and return said gears into engagement.

4. A toy loader comprising a hollow vehicle body having spaced side walls and a top wall shorter than said side walls and joining the upper edges of the side walls at the rear end portion of the body While leaving the edges free at the front end portion, a first elongated and generally flat arm disposed outside said body in a plane parallel to and adjacent one of said side walls and extending forwardly to a point beyond the front of the body, a second and similar arm correspondingly disposed relative to the other side wall, means pivotally connecting the inner ends of said arms to said body to permit the arms to swing about a horizontal aXis, a first lever disposed inside said body and alongside said first arm, a second lever disposed inside said body and alongside said second arm, means pivotally supporting said levers on said body to turn about a second axis parallel to said first axis, said side walls having notches opening upwardly through the free edges thereof and disposed forwardly of both of said axes, ledges projecting laterally from said levers and outwardly of said body through said notches, each ledge underlyng the adjacent one of said arms at a point alongside the corresponding notch to provide an abutment on which the lower edge of the arm rests, mechanism enclosed within the body in driving relationship with said levers to turn said levers together about said second aXis and lift said arms, and a bucket supported on the outer ends of said arms, said notches being of such depth as to permit said bucket to be lowered to the level of the loadefs supporting surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,652,136 Arden Dec. 6, 1927 2,435,098 Pokorny Jan. 27, 1948 2,589,333 Brown Mar. 18, 1952 2,681,739 Gokey June 22, 1954 

